


Foray into the Spirit World

by rheotastic



Category: Persona Series, Stella Glow
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood and Injury, Gen, Permanently Unfinished, Shadows (Persona Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27647912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rheotastic/pseuds/rheotastic
Summary: Having just aided Lisette obtain her Persona, Alto visits the other world again with the goal of gaining a further understanding of his powers. Urged on by his Persona, and his own desire to become stronger, he ventures out into the abyss, tethered to Lisette by a psychic connection courtesy of her new Persona.Written for my friend Silky's SG/Persona AU.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Foray into the Spirit World

**Author's Note:**

  * For [photonconductor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/photonconductor/gifts).



> IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING SILKY I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!
> 
> If you're not silky hello and enjoy your stay!

“Okay, you shooould be coming to what looks like an intersection?”

The voice burbled along in Alto’s head, clear as day, like he was wearing an earpiece. It was unnerving, hearing Lisette in his skull—it almost felt like an invasion of privacy. Then again, such boundaries didn’t really exist between the two of them anyway, so having her as an auditory guide was a bit comforting.

“You wanna make a left. Your left, not mine. I think? If there isn’t a left, just go straight.”

...But only a bit. The paths stretching in front of him _did_ make sort of an intersection, with three branches: one right, one left, and one straight ahead. They were each patterned with the same checkered tile that made up the landscape of the rest of this world; black, white, black, white, black, white, stretching off into the horizonless distance. Vague walls split them as amorphous segments of gloom, hazy enough to make out shapes of what lay beyond them, but solid at a touch. The aether enveloped it all, soundless and infinite, forming both sky and the bottomless void that threatened to swallow him if he diverged from the tiled paths. It was mottled sparsely with dim stars, fixed and unblinking, as if they were painted in. Nebulous shadows rolled along those false heavens in a languid tide, splitting apart, morphing together, but never coming any closer. 

“Lisette? Can you hear me?” Alto said to the air, stopping his stride at the junction. She could pick up his voice at close distances, but he was pretty far out at this point; maybe this was the limit of her capabilities.

“Yep! Loud and clear. I can also tell you stopped—don’t worry, it’s definitely strai—left! Left.”

Alto sighed, loud enough that he hoped it was more than audible to his companion, but obeyed her directions. The left fork of the path was uneven and dilapidated, more up and down than straight ahead; tiles rose in miniature columns or sunk into craters, making his gait awkward and ungainly. “Jeez...Doesn’t Jörmungandr have six eyes? I feel like navigation shouldn’t be this hard.”

Lisette huffed and puffed out her cheeks—he guessed, at least, but he could practically see her face from her tone. “You know that’s not how it works! And having six eyes is really hard—everything overlaps in your peripheral, and it can get _rea_ lly overwhelming!” Her voice pitched at the word “really”, and there was a muffled thump that sounded a lot like a frustrated stomp. “Nothing makes sense here! It exists in more than three dimensions, or _something_ —it’s all layers upon layers and it’s _super_ hard to get a grasp on what’s what and everything’s shifting all around—it’s a lot of work!” 

“Okay, okay, you’ve got a point,” Alto said, trailing his fingertips along intermittent pillars as he walked. “This place _is_ really confusing. It was a nightmare without you, even with only one path.” He smiled fondly, not even aware if she could see him. “Thank you, Lisette. For helping, and...for being good company.”

Lisette giggled, and her front of indignance evaporated. “Oh, you know I should be thanking you...I know fighting off the shadow must’ve been hard, but the journey’s no walk in the park either, huh?” She hummed to herself, and a matching, sibilant growl echoed in Alto’s mind. “Did Sköll even tell you anything about this world? Topography, geography...Does _he_ have a map?”

“If he does, he’s not in a sharing mood,” Alto sighed, and made another call to his Persona in his mind. No meaningful response; a vague stir in power, one that he could force out if he needed, but that was it: no words, no real presence. For a “true self”, he sure wasn’t forthcoming with much. “To be fair, I don’t think it’s _possible_ to really map this place. You said it yourself: it’s all shifting around. Nothing’s…” Alto laid his hand against another column in his path, watching its shape become less and less discernible the longer he stared at it. “Permanent.”

“But some things stay the same! I don’t know why Sköll can’t at least point us in _any_ direction. He’s quiet for someone with a big mouth,” Lisette said. Alto couldn’t really argue with her; after giving the most abstruse explanation possible of this world, Personas, and Shadows, he stopped providing any form of information. It was a tremendous stroke of luck that Jörmungandr was skilled at perception and navigation, as Alto had no doubt that Sköll would’ve opted to leave him in the dark regardless. Then again, his Persona had seemed to know that Lisette would have an awakening to begin with. He’d been very vocal in the fight with her shadow, commanding Alto rather than the other way around. Whatever inner strength and resolution in his heart Sköll was apparently born from, Alto felt almost stranger to it. 

“Maybe it just means some part of your heart is a jerk. Right Jör?” Another crackling hiss, this one pitched slightly to mimic someone saying “mhm”. 

He knew Lisette couldn’t _actually_ hear his thoughts, but whenever her voice broke into his head with something even tangentially related to his reflections, Alto felt a bit of adrenaline go off. “I know that’s you making Jörmungandr hiss. You just sound desperate for someone to agree with you.”

“Not all of us have an untalkative talking Persona!” Lisette giggled, but the way she trailed off made it sound more than a little forced. “...I mean, don’t you think it’s weird? Like, Jörmungandr is just an extension of myself. She doesn’t have any of her own thoughts or anything. If Sköll is supposed to be you, shouldn’t you have the same consciousness? Or at least if he thinks something...shouldn’t you be able to access it? That’s weird, right?”

It was. It was uncomfortable, bizarre, bemusing, strange— _weird_. But Alto told Lisette the same thing he told himself every time it came up. “We’ve only really met Jör and Sköll. Maybe this is just how Personas are supposed to work, and you’re the weird one.”

“I guess...I still think you’re the weird one though. Next Persona user we meet, we’ll ask them to settle this.” Lisette sighed, and Alto knew she wasn’t any more satisfied with that answer than he was. Something was off and they both knew it, but they also knew that they lacked enough information to do anything about it. They were in the dark, and they could only fumble their way forward on these tiled paths. Alto grunted as he tripped on a pothole of a sunken tile—there were dozens of them now, only slightly out of place, which somehow made it even more difficult to walk. Every footstep had to be careful, every stride irregular, the experience roughly similar to wading through mud. “So what do you think we should call this place?”

His attention was skewed for a second by Lisette’s question, but that was all it took for Alto to bash one foot against a partially risen tile. While he was trying to keep himself from crying and swearing at the same time, Lisette chattered on. “I mean, calling it ‘the second world’ or ‘the shadow world’ sounds way too simple. Plus if someone overhears us talking about a second world, we might get caught or something. We need a proper name to call it. Something simple, but evocative. Concise, but revelatory...Suitably esoteric and individual to the concept…” With the stilted way Lisette was talking, it was clear she was paraphrasing something else; probably a Mr. X book, if her adamant collection of them was any indication. Alto didn’t have much use for Mr. X’s style, given that it was just endlessly complex ways to express something simple. If a cake was light, you could just say so, and not _angel’s feathers wafting upwards in the spring breeze_ , or whatever. He missed the path in his next step, lurching forward but _just_ managing to save himself from falling, via some graceless pinwheeling of his arms. 

If Lisette noticed (she probably didn’t; she would’ve laughed), she gave no indication, and went right on talking. “So how’s this? The atmosphere here is all otherworldly. So what about...The Otherworld? It’s simple, and it’s almost like calling it the other world, but it’s more stylish! ‘We’re going to the Otherworld today.’ Doesn’t that sound better?”

“Why is _this_ the aspect you’ve decided to fixate on? I feel like there are more important things we don’t know than the name of this place.”

“Understanding starts at the beginning! And if we don’t even know the name, there’s no beginning to start from. So what do you think about the Otherworld? Ooh, or maybe, Spirit World? Because it’s connected to human spirits? That sounds cool too, right?” Whenever Lisette was significantly troubled, she liked to try looking for the bright or fun side of things. Alto knew that, but it was still...jarring when she changed gears like this. “What do you think, Otherworld or Spirit World?”

“Remind me again what was wrong with Shadow World? It’s a shadowy world, there are Shadows, seems fitting,” Alto said, concentrating as best he could on not tripping up again. The path wasn’t as narrow as it was before; it had spread out to a width of about six tiles, so he finally had some breathing room. And room to catch himself if he missed a step. While he was definitely glad for that, he was exceedingly wary of what the path opening up portended. They were looking for landmarks, yes, but they’d be landmarks to Shadows as well; they could start showing up at any moment now. This was, of course, _their_ world. 

“Shadow World sounds too silly. It’s the name of that one song, you know? _Truth is elusive it’s nowhere to be found_ —”

“Did you put this much thought into it when you decided to call me _Alto_?” 

Lisette laughed, all bright and clear again; just listening to her voice, Alto could almost forget that they were in some other dimension that wanted them dead. “Sometimes you just see something, and you know its name!” Both of them would rather be home, and when they talked like this, it was almost like they were for a moment.

The moment passed quickly.

Lisette’s voice abruptly crackled and fizzled out, and Alto froze. Were there Shadows approaching? Were they already there? He frantically whirled around to check if they had snuck up on him—nothing. At least, he couldn’t see anything. He didn’t actually know, he reminded himself, if Shadows were always tangible. They were able to dissolve into fluid or even thin air when they were struck down—maybe they could appear in the same way. He floundered about in his mind, panic garbling his attempts to get to Sköll. His Persona remained dormant. Rather, it did stir, as if it had been awoken from slumber, lazily opening one eye, only to shrug him off and return to sleep. 

Sköll was difficult, but never _this_ difficult. He would typically leap into action any time Alto was in trouble, and even pointed out Shadows for him on occasion. Alto remained petrified as a startled rabbit, stiff save for the wild flicking of his eyes about the area. Were the Shadows here, or did they attack Lisette? He should just run back to her, but what direction was she even in at this point?

“...to? ...n...ear m…? Alt…...kay?” Shards of Lisette’s voice slipped into his head. Usually it simply...appeared, as naturally as if she were speaking next to him, but her words felt forced this time. He got the distinct feeling that each piece of transmission was being purposefully placed directly into his skull; it was uncomfortable, to say the least. “ ...ot...nny…ör…...rdr…”

“Lisette? Lisette, are you okay?! You’re cutting out—I’m coming back but I’m not sure which way to go, I’ll figure it out, just hold on!” Energy rushed back into his limbs as Alto immediately turned back the way he came, heedless of all the tiles he jammed his feet into. The terrain suddenly didn’t seem so rough, just a very small hurdle he could literally vault over. His rapid footfalls were soundless, simply vanishing into the amorphous void that stretched over the passage. He hadn’t realized how far he’d traveled until he was facing it back down; it seemed to roll out endlessly in front of him, every new point in the distance identical to the tile under his feet, as if he were on a massive treadmill. Maybe he wasn’t actually moving—this world was just so damn _featureless_ —

“Alto! Can you hear me now?!” The feeling of words being set into his head was at least doubled in intensity. They were slammed down into his mind with enough force that it would produce an audible _clack_ on his skull, if it were physical. Every syllable sent a pulse of numbness from his crown to his eyes, evaporating any thoughts it met on the way there. “Alto! If you can hear me, say anything! _Please!_ ” 

“I’m fine—Lisette, are you okay? There’s something wrong with your voice. I’m on my way—“ 

“No! No, Alto, I’ve got a reading. Stay there, or, well, keep going the way you were. I’m so glad you’re okay, and I’m fine, there’s nothing wrong except—there’s someone there!” Lisette’s voice was strained both from relief and panic, and Alto could actually _feel_ it. The forced way she was coming in, her emotions actually implanted themselves in his, before dispersing within a moment. Happiness, anxiety, excitement, bemusement...as the weight of what Lisette was saying set in, those feelings rose in his own heart as well. 

“I think they were interfering with our connection. As soon as I picked them up, I couldn’t see you at all; I thought the Shadows got you!” A series of prickles ran down the top of Alto’s skull, fading as they slunk down to the base of his neck. “I probably didn’t make things any easier by panicking. I had to use a _lot_ of Jör’s power to get through, so I can’t see much anymore.”

“Is there still interference?” Alto mumbled. “Hearing you...is uncomfortable. Your voice is clear, but it kind of overloads my brain when you talk.”

This time her words hit him in a wave, gentler than the shaking pulses from before, but still something that rolled over and submerged his consciousness. “That’s just me, I think. I’m using all the other power Jör has that’s devoted to navigation, remote viewing, physical insight, just to talk to you. I don’t—I don’t really know if it works like this, but I think all of that power doing things it’s not supposed to makes it come out weird. I’m sure the connection’s unbroken though; no tampering.” Lisette paused, but the sensation of incoming messages still pervaded Alto’s head. Gentler pulses resounded from different corners of his mind in sequence, in such methodical order that it was clearly being done on purpose. “I’m trying to get through as easily as possible, but I think this is the best I can do. The other Persona user must be blocking us and I have no idea if they’re doing it on purpose or not.”

“Persona user?” Alto repeated. He’d assumed the “someone” Lisette mentioned was another average person who ended up in the Shadow World accidentally. Someone who could use a Persona… “How can you tell?”

“They looked mostly the same as we do. Like, humans have a certain look, and so do Personas, and Shadows. Humans kind of have a warmer signature than Personas and Shadows, which have similar—okay, it’s hard to explain, but I can tell. They’re a person working with a Persona.” Alto felt his head surge forward as the connection was severed, only to reform an instant later and stop his momentum; it was like hitting a sudden stop in a car, and getting choked by the seat belt. “Yep, they’re still there. No Shadows either.”

“Where is ‘there’ Lisette? And please warn me if you do that again.” Alto’s feet numbly shifted beneath him, though he was beyond trying to control his legs. He hadn’t fallen, but none of the credit for that went to his own efforts; his brain and his body were both swept along by the tides of the voice pulsing in his skull. Any action he could take at the moment, besides blinking dizzily, was limited to pure instinct. Maybe Sköll was helping to keep him upright. Alto could feel a...presence, in his power, a slight tangibility and tension as though Sköll was actively listening to them. Or it could just be an extension of Alto’s own apprehension. He couldn’t know. 

“Sorry, Alto, I’m still getting used to this—I know it’s a lot. I’ll stop in a minute.” Any levity in Lisette’s voice was gone, and while it wasn’t unfitting, it was...unnerving. The weight of the situation was bearing down that much harder. “They’re right where we were headed before. The landmark place, the little clearing. I _know_ they weren’t there before. They just showed up when you started getting close.”

Alto waited for Lisette to continue, but she didn’t. The connection was still making him groggy, though, so she hadn’t severed it. Was she waiting for him too?. “So—What do we do?” Alto said slowly. “We should go home, right? Someone shows up where I was going and tries to cut us off from each other—that doesn’t sound good. And it’s not like we have any real goal. We can just come back and explore another day; one when going ahead isn’t putting us in danger.” 

Lisette was silent. From the crackling in his spine, Alto could tell that she was not only present, but tense. She held the words for a few more beats, before resolving herself and speaking them; every syllable arrived in his head with a delicate sort of weight, disturbing his conscious without straining it too far, as birds landing on tree branches. “I think we should try and talk to them.”

Before Alto could respond, more of Lisette’s voice poured into his mind, rapidly, forcefully, ceaselessly. He couldn’t interrupt her even if he wanted to, assaulted as he was by the sensation of an endless bucket of water being poured on his head. “I think they’re trying to contact us, Alto! Even with Jör’s power diluted, I can see them. They’re like—a light in the darkness. Everything else is vague, but I can tell where they are. And okay, I know that sounds bad, like a lure or something, but I don’t think they’re an enemy. I mean, we were separated, and it seems like they probably did it, but they didn’t make any move towards you, even though you were alone and couldn’t see them. They could’ve attacked, but they didn’t, and even now they’re just staying there. And, we’re looking for answers about this place! They probably know more about this world than we do if they’re okay to just sit and watch. Even if they _are_ waiting to attack us, you can probably escape, or fight them off, right? I mean, Sköll’s really tough, and he’s gotten us out of a bunch of bad situations, so he could at least let us escape. I just, I think if we don’t go see them, we’ll never get anywhere. We don’t even really know why we have our Personas, so finding another Persona user who probably got here from somewhere else is our first big clue! We can ask them about Sköll. They can be our tiebreaker, you know? You get what I’m saying, right?”

Alto did get what she was saying. Every emotion and concept Lisette was trying to communicate landed on his brain like a fat raindrop, and it was a virtual downpour. He was having trouble maintaining a hold of his own thoughts, but he definitely knew what _she_ was saying. Alto held one hand up as he grasped for his own will among Lisette’s, hoping that she could see him, or at least understand that he needed a moment. The fog cleared shortly, and Alto spoke, “I get it, but...you really think we should take that kind of risk?” The question was rhetorical; he knew she did, but didn’t truly consider it to be much of a risk. “You’re right, we don’t know anything; including whether or not Sköll will even hold up against another Persona. All we’ve fought are Shadows, and...we don’t really know much about that either. We can’t anticipate anything here, and if we mess up, we could—it could be fatal.

“Lisette, when your Shadow started attacking, I...I was so scared. I never wanted you to be in danger, and not only did I put you in it, but I couldn’t protect you.” Alto took a deep breath, unable to stop it from shuddering slightly. “Sköll says he’s the power of my heart, but...I don’t know. I don’t control him. Not entirely. I don’t know what that says about my will, but if I can’t summon him any more or anything, I’m right back to where we started. I can’t protect you. I know you’re not even in direct danger right now, but this whole world is dangerous. I just—if we can avoid it, I don’t want to risk anything. Not until I’m stronger, and I can get by here with something other than…” Alto reached out to Sköll again, but his Persona dodged about his grasp every time he got close. “...Luck. I don’t want to hold you back either, but I really don’t want you to get hurt, especially because of something I can’t—something I’m not great at yet.”

It was silent, then, not just within his head, but through the whole world. It probably always was, being absent of all things, but Alto only noticed it now. The connection held, evinced by the slight strain in his psyche, but it was quiet. 

When her words came, they were still placed, but with the featherlight delicacy of cloth being hung on a wire. They grew heavier from the second they touched down, sinking further into his head as they turned leaden. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to put you in any danger either, I—I didn’t know you felt that way. I always thought of you as much better at this than me, Alto, especially after you saved me. That’s not an excuse, I just—I haven’t thought of you as lacking. And I didn’t think you’d be worried about me, because I’m so far away, but...I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking how I was making you feel.” She was _really_ sorry. Alto didn’t need to feel her emotions to tell that. 

“No, I get what you’re trying to do. I don’t want to guilt you; it’s not really a bad idea, I just want to cut down on risks right now. If we see them again later, we’ll definitely go see them, okay Lisette? Things are just too dangerous right now.” Alto really didn’t want to trample on Lisette’s ideas or make her feel like he was unhappy with her; he wondered if she could feel his emotions the way he could hers. 

She was quiet again, but with a pronounced air of reluctance. Alto could practically see her biting her lip. “That’s part of why I thought you should go. I don’t...see danger. I don’t see Shadows, but this Persona user doesn’t feel dangerous. I didn’t want to say it because it sounds dumb, but they seem like they don’t mean us any harm. I can see that, somehow. Or feel it. Or both. Maybe this is a part of my power, but I really feel like this isn’t putting anyone in harm’s way. But I understand, we can turn back now. I really don’t want to put you in a bad position, Alto.”

Alto sighed and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. Lisette was speaking with such conviction. She truly believed there was nothing dangerous there. She was the one with the ability to see things that far, and she navigated him to this point without much issue, so there was no reason to doubt her scouting ability. It was something that he lacked completely, and he had no right to hold her back just because of his own deficits. “You really think it’s a good idea to go and check it out?”

The link wavered for a moment, in an up and down fashion; Alto would’ve bet that Lisette had nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see her. “Yes. I do. But going home is a good idea too—”

“Okay. We’ll go see what it is. I trust you.”

A fizzling static ran through the connection, giving it the feeling of pins and needles. “You have a point too! I wasn’t trying to push you into—”

Alto threw up his hands as he wheeled around, setting his stride carefully back down the path. “It’s too late! I already started going back!” He grinned as he felt Lisette groan, a crackling, insect hum through her link. “I’m not pushed into it. We agreed that you’d guide me, so I’m listening to your advice. I do trust you. I trust you to tell the instant something’s wrong, so we can get out of here. Right?”

He winced as he felt another frisson, less aggressive than the others but still unpleasant all the same. Lisette must’ve forgotten about keeping the connection steady in her agitation. “Right. I wouldn’t let you get hurt if I could do anything about it, Alto. You’re important to me.”

“You’re important to me too. Which is why I don’t wanna say this, but…” Alto tried to focus on the tiles in front of him, but it was enough work to even get his feet to move. His brain was putting up with enough assault as it was, and both walking and being able to process the environment seemed like too big an ask. That he was even able to think was a small miracle, considering his head felt like it was being arrhythmically compressed by a caliper. “I think we need to break the connection for now. I can’t concentrate when you have to force it like this. It’s a liability.”

It went erratic for a moment, sparking about like untapped electricity. Then the link returned to its heavy, forced state, making Alto stop walking just to stay stable. “...I guess you’re right,” Lisette said, “that doing this is not good for either of us right now. I can’t monitor you as well. But still…”

“Yeah, I don’t feel great about it either. But I think it’s our only option, besides waiting here for hours while I get used to it.” It was _slightly_ less taxing to talk than it was at first, but he didn’t know if he could chalk that up to his adjustment or Lisette’s. “Do you still want to go forward?”

Lisette hummed in discomfort and sighed. “Yes and no. But yes first. It’s not like I couldn’t reconnect instantly if there was something I had to tell you, so you wouldn’t really be alone. But I don’t have to like it.”

Alto almost laughed out loud at that, albeit in a hollow sort of way. She sounded a bit like a spoiled child, and the words themselves would sound totally normal coming from her mouth; her tone, however, was somber and mirthless. “So you could still tell me anything important?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t. The second anything worth anything happens, you’ll know. I may be quiet, but I’ll still be there with you.”

“I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

Lisette laughed as hollowly as Alto felt. “Yeah. Stay safe.”

“You too,” Alto said, and the world instantly snapped into proper focus. Their link was completely severed, and while he was physically able to breathe again, emotionally he felt less so. For better or worse, he and Lisette were pretty much always together, especially when they were in a pinch. The first time he was really in deep water and she wasn’t with him was when she’d first been taken to this world. Alto hadn’t really felt the apprehension in full force then, because he’d been too focused on his goal: saving her. That drove his every action, adrenaline fueled his body, and by the time he’d slowed down to realize how much of a mess he was, she was safe. 

Now they separated voluntarily, and the only way forward was to trudge through the nothingness alone. All of his fears, all of his anxieties and pains, had ample time to crawl up his body like ivy, with no distraction to shield him. His senses were no longer dulled from the strain of the link, and yet there was almost nothing for them to perceive. Alto couldn’t even focus on the path to occupy his thoughts, as every single step was the same as the last. It was white noise given physical shape. The world beyond the path was as blank as it was before, and the shadows seemed even more featureless. The only reprieve to the silence was the thud of his own heart and the tide of his breathing, which only seemed more deafening the longer he walked. He was truly, completely alone.

_No_ , Alto tried to remind himself, _Lisette isn’t gone, and I’m doing this_ for _her_. He was partially going to find this supposed Persona user for himself, but in truth, it was mainly because Lisette thought it was the right call. It was important to her to see this out, and he would help her how he could. He had to get to the end of this corridor like she wanted. Left, right, left, right, all identical. Alto watched his shoes hit every parallel tile, but any sound evaporated into the nothingness. In a way, he feared to lift his eyes from the unchanging ground, as if he’d only see more of it ahead.

_Focus on the goal._ Lisette probably wasn’t wrong, that they’d find some answers in this other person. Maybe this Persona user was part of a much larger whole, of some organization or team. If there were other people out there with these powers, wouldn’t they also try to use them for the greater good? Could they help Alto find a way to use them to protect people? If they could, he’d never have to leave Lisette alone again. Maybe they would help him to finally become stronger, so he wasn’t laid low by something as minor as nervous system strain.

Sköll had been quiet for a while now. Alto grasped out for him, in part just to have something to do. His Persona did not resist this time, but didn’t respond in any meaningful way either. He was frozen in place, not catatonic or asleep, but at rapt attention. Attention to what, Alto didn’t know, but he could feel Sköll’s ears pricked, eye wide open, and his body poised for action. He seemed too focused on whatever he was observing to even pay Alto any mind. And Alto was supposed to be the one in control of this power. He would’ve dwelled on it further, if he hadn’t felt the direction Sköll was pointing: directly to the clearing Alto was heading towards. 

So Sköll wanted to find this person too...Maybe he wanted tips from the other Persona on how to actually be helpful. Alto was a bit conflicted on going along with his Persona’s wishes; on one hand, his goals and thoughts were almost entirely unknown and potentially dangerous. On the other, Sköll had been instrumental in protecting both him and Lisette, and seemed to listen when push came to shove. Regardless, Alto would find this clearing, but it would be for Lisette, not for Sköll. It was simply another thing to consider while he forged down the endless pathway: what about this person so interested Sköll?

He’d known enough about this world to begin with, as well as the concept of being a Persona user. Lisette was...intriguing to him, to a certain point, but not to the point that he tensed like a hunting dog. Perhaps Sköll was just trying to guide Alto, in as inscrutable a way as possible, as was his prerogative. To simply point him in the right direction, and protect him if anything got too rough; that seemed to be the scope of his abilities. And yet his knowledge was vast, and his strength far past comparable to any shadows they’d seen yet. 

_I am thou. Thou art I._ Sköll said that to Alto the first time he manifested. _Thy will has been made manifest. I am thine aide to protect this world, as I am thine heart._ Alto hadn’t the time to doubt it, but now he really began to question those words. They weren’t each other at all. Sköll kept to himself, and shared things Alto couldn’t possibly know. There was no way for his “heart” to know how to _purify the girl’s heart_ or _master her Shadow_ or any of the other things Sköll had told him to do that always worked. Even if that could be true, why would he resist Alto in any way? If he knew something, and Alto willed him to share it, why didn’t—

Someone was here. Alto didn’t even know how he could tell at first, as all of his senses were suddenly blaring it at him. As nothing as this place was, the sudden presence of _something_ sent his body into overdrive. The atmosphere itself had split open, and he could feel it, along his skin, ringing in his ears, prickling along his temples. It wasn’t a presence he’d ever felt before, but he’d never been this far into the Shadow World before. His senses could just be tuned to it this far in, or this was just how it felt to exist here. The only sense that wasn’t blaring away at him right now was his sight; it was so drowned out by everything else, he forgot he could even see for a moment. 

Alto shook his head and blinked, trying to will the world into focus. The same narrow pathway was under his feet, but just in front of him, it began to get wider. Three tiles became five became seven became nine, continuing on beyond counting. He was standing just at the threshold of the room, but could see no deeper into it. All he could tell was that it was huge in comparison to the corridors he’d been plodding down, wide and open like a ballroom. And that there was someone in it. 

Lisette was still quiet, and he knew she’d say something if it needed to be said, so he took a breath and stepped forward. As cavernous as the opening was, it was still made up of the checkerboard tile, and all but monochrome. The floor was surprisingly even, free of the potholes and bumps that had been his downfall before. From looks alone, it could be mistaken for an actual chess board, or a classic diner floor. Across from him, however, past a gulf of perfect empty space that spanned tens of tiles, was a mountain. The Shadow World’s approximation of one, anyway. It was formed by rows and rows of tiles, rising up in a pyramid formation. The first row was slightly higher and narrower than the base, the second was higher and narrower than the first, and so on, up and up, in geometric, lifeless perfection. 

Halfway up sat a girl. Alto assumed so anyway, because she was much smaller than he or Lisette, and yet her presence was...not normal. Her hair was snow white, only slightly lighter than her skin, and flowed down her back, pooling on the ground below her waist. Parting that pristine curtain about her eyes was a deep blue mask, the likes of which one would see at a masquerade. It was shaped like a massive butterfly with its wings fully spread, golden filigree spun along the edges. Even golder, though, were the eyes fixed upon him from beneath the mask. They gleamed and swirled with a light that was neither external nor internal, giving her as otherworldly an appearance as everything around her.

She sat with her arms spread, fingers draped on the edge of the tiles beneath her, her legs swung over the edge. The girl showed no sign of speaking to him or even shifting, seemingly content to gaze at him like an appraising statue. The clothes she wore were the same blue as her mask, yet somehow completely unremarkable. They blended in with the veil, while most assuredly being there. Could Lisette see this girl too? Or was she even there to begin with?

After another long moment of staring and being stared at, Alto opened his mouth to say something, but the girl cut him off. Her voice was soft and clear, but with a cold lilt that seemed mature beyond her years. “So, you’re the one…” she said, pushing herself down onto the next ledge. “The one traipsing about in this world.”

She continued to descend the tile “stairs”, step after silent step. It seemed physically impossible for how small she was, that she should’ve fallen at some point, but she effortlessly descended regardless. It even looked like she was floating at times, that her foot met only air, and she continued her measured pace in open air. The girl’s presence was not natural, but Lisette was right; Alto felt no danger. He could only stare at her and wait until she decided she was far enough down.

When both her feet hit the floor, despite the distance between them, she spoke again. “You are the human who came to this world, yes? You and your companion?”

_Human_. She’d said it like that, like she was anything else. Maybe she meant that he wasn’t a Shadow, the normal residents of this world. Any questions didn’t even make their way to his throat, though. She didn’t mean him harm, and she clearly had answers, so he could just follow her lead. “Yes. I’m Alto, and I came here with—”

“You should go back the way you came.” She said it simply, like it was the answer he was searching for. And yet, the way she was looking at him, she clearly didn’t expect him to listen.

“What? I—”

“I’ll say it again. Leave this world.” Her words were threatening, but she made no flicker of movement against him. She just kept watching. 

“Wait, I don’t understand. So, I ended up in this world and got a Persona, and then my friend...”

The girl didn’t seem particularly irritated by his words, but she stopped him again with the shake of her head. She turned away and closed her eyes at once, as though the sight of him was something she wanted to avoid above all else. “You’re not listening. You have to go.”

Alto was more than a little incensed at that point; she was going to tell him he wasn’t listening when she was talking over him? Still, he tried to ignore it a bit. This world may have had different standards for polite conversation. “Okay, I understand. But why do I have to go? If it’s something dangerous, I can protect myself. Maybe I can help.”

She paused a moment, and then blinked. Alto didn’t even know if he’d seen her do it until now; she blinked long and heavy, like a tired cat. The stare she fixed him with was all levels of bewilderment blended with shades of apprehension, hued in that gleaming gold of her eyes. He felt Sköll coil into a crouch and his muscles automatically tensed for an attack, but she stayed still. 

It looked like she was done with interrupting, so Alto seized his chance. “I haven’t seen very much of this world. I only got my Persona, and then saved my friend when she came here. My Persona told me to help people through this world, so I’ve just been doing that. I can come back later if you think it’s not safe or something. But if you know anything one way or the other, me and my friend Lisette—she’s listening to us right now—would really appreciate it.”

“No,” the girl said, and Alto again felt Sköll brace himself, “You don’t understand. You need to leave and never come back. This world isn’t for you.” Her face had hardened now, and all those turbulent emotions he’d seen in her eyes were sealed away beneath a veneer of steel. 

“Wait, what do you mean—”

“I’ve said my piece. If you won’t listen, I’ll have to escort you back home.”

Lisette cracked into his head like a battering ram just as blue mist began to form around the girl. “Alto! Her power is way beyond mine. It’s probably beyond Sköll’s! You need to summon him and get out of there, _now_!”

The blue fog condensed around the girl’s right arm, which she extended as it crept away. It swirled off her fingertips, wrapping around itself and expanding in every direction it could, painting a vague picture in cerulean. As it coagulated, the form began to appear more and more human, albeit twice the size of one. A face melted out of the fog, then arms, then legs—or rather, a dress. As the image became substantial, it became clear that it lacked complete legs; it was more of a statue, and the sculpture ended at the hem of the dress. It was wrought of a gold that matched the girl’s eyes, endlessly reflective and bright, but at the same time cold and indurate. The statue depicted a woman, dress tight and endlessly creased against her form, looking more like a punitive restraint than anything else. It bound even her face, which was rendered formless save only the ghost of a human visage. Stiff, silver hair encircled her expressionless face, given no texture or softness, but rather ending in perfect uniform halfway down her back. She had her hands around a large white ball, which floated in front of her waist. Unlike the rest of her form, it appeared in constant flux, with images rapidly morphing together and apart below its surface, faces surfacing and submerging, swirling into oblivion only to emerge again. 

The Persona simply stood there, barely even facing him. It made no move, and neither did the girl. Clearly she intended this as some sort of threat. It worked for Lisette, who had mercifully abandoned his brain so he could concentrate, but Alto wasn’t going to give up so easily. 

He had to concentrate all he could to keep Sköll from leaping out, jaws wide, but Alto managed to keep him in and speak. “We don’t have to be enemies. Just tell me what’s going on.”

The girl was silent, and her face as frosty as she could make it. She raised her hand up further, and let it linger in the air; another warning. She didn’t seem to want to do this either. “Skuld,” she said softly, and the Persona swiveled impassively in place, motionless stare boring into Alto. “Eigaon.”

Alto dove to the side as a purple-black bolt whizzed out of the sphere the girl’s Persona held, trained directly where he’d been standing. It cracked as it hit the wall, and festering shadows spilled out where it hit, staining the monochrome floor in violet. They too fizzled out after a moment had passed, and left not even an impression when they faded. The room was back to its nothing, perfect state. Sköll wrestled and writhed in place, desperately trying to force himself forward, but Alto held him back. “Stop! I don’t want to fight you!”

“Megidola.”

The orb in her Persona’s hands began to glow, accompanied by a high whine like a cicada’s. Alto rolled forward immediately, closing as much distance as he could between himself and the girl. The whine reached a fever pitch and the orb flashed, sending out a white beam behind him. It cut through the air soundlessly, and impacted the floor behind him with a resounding _boom_. He closed his eyes as a sheenless white light filled the room, and the wind of an explosion dusted his back. He didn’t want to check the damage that time. “Why are you doing this?! I just want to protect Lisette—I just want to protect _everyone_!”

The girl scowled as the light of her attack faded away, with Alto still standing. The space between them was less, now, and he was to the side of the mountain that she’d had her back to. She turned towards him again, in perfect sync with her Persona. “This is not a realm of protection.” She raised her hand, fingers outstretched towards him. “Sukunda.” 

Alto was poised to dodge another attack from that ball her Persona held, so he was completely blindsided when the blow came from beneath him. Tendrils of indigo encircled his feet, clinging and licking him ceaselessly. At their touch, energy drained out of his muscles, and made the haze glow slightly. First he felt too sluggish to dodge, then to run, then to walk...It continued as the vines embracing his legs turned from indigo to violet. They became brighter and brighter until they disappeared altogether, and he was left crumpled to the floor. 

Panting, Alto pushed himself up on his arms and tried to move his legs. They responded, but all too slowly, like they were encased in an invisible gelatin. He looked up to the girl; her expression was implacable, and her hand still lifted in position. _Dammit…_ If she got an attack off now, he wouldn’t be able to avoid it. And from what Lisette had said, and what he’d seen, any direct hit wouldn’t be easy to recover from. “Please…” he said, hauling himself to his enervated feet. “I’ll try to get stronger...I don’t want to fight.”

“Eigaon.”

The orb crackled again, black and purple currents running along it like electricity. They doubled, then tripled in number, growing to full density in a tenebrous cloud. He was too weak to take an attack like that at full charge. There was only one option left to him. Alto cast away every fetter and chain he had been holding on to.

“ _Sköll!_ ”

The massive wolf leapt out of the aether before its body had even solidified completely. A vague blue glow wreathed its fur, and its gargantuan paws defied to hit the ground, incorporeal as they were. Its teeth, however, were fully formed, as perfectly and opaquely white as the most precious alabaster. They were uncountable in number, stretching down the endless length of his maw, from head to chest, finally ceasing at its muscular chest. A single, pupil-less eye rolled between two sockets, radiating a warm yellow light that glazed its teeth. The black pelt that swathed its body rippled across its musculature in ragged beauty, turning to brown and gold in the gleam of its wandering eye. Claws, curved and sharpened like fangs, tipped every digit, with a few errant nails capping its elbows. 

It picked Alto up in its mouth as if carrying a pup as soon as it materialized, and bounded for the mountain as a huge bolt of energy whizzed towards it, just singing the tip of its tail. It gracelessly ascended each level, letting its cargo swing freely from its jaws, and stopped at a ledge halfway up. Sköll dropped Alto to the ground none too gently, then wheeled around, readying its footing to leap to attack. Alto landed on his feet, and grunted from the weight of his own body. His legs were already getting better, but only slowly. Best to keep the vantage for the moment, and hope Sköll could keep that girl occupied. 

Her gaze was still fixed on the spot Alto had been, either stunned by Sköll’s appearance or still looking for him while the magic residue dissipated. An opening, either way. “Sköll, go!” he yelled, and the wolf lunged forward, springing off the ledge where Alto still stood. The beast’s maw swung open, every pair of interlocked teeth that separated another button snapping off, dangling the fabric of its jaw wider and wider. It flew through the air, claws flexed and spread, trained on the girl’s motionless Persona. 

There was a thud when they collided, and another bang as the wolf pinned the statue’s metallic body against the floor. The glow of its eye coruscated off the Persona’s golden skin, sending light glaring all across the room. The girl had stumbled and fallen to one knee at a direct hit to her Persona, which remained motionless under Sköll’s claws. Neither looked hurt, only immobilized. That was all Alto wanted. 

He opened his mouth to apologize, to explain that all he wanted was to talk things out, about this power and how to use it, but she was the one to speak once again. She straightened herself, giving no hint to how arduous it was or wasn’t, and her eyes froze on Sköll. The glassy shield over her eyes shattered in an instant, and fragments of a thousand emotions whirled out: fear, pain, surprise, torment, doubt, grief, and just a shimmer of hope. “That Persona…” she breathed, “How... _Why?!_ ”

The face under Sköll’s heavy paw shimmered for a moment, darkening to the blue of the mist that formed it, then it solidified again. The girl’s eyes remained wide, and brimming over with ineffable thought, but she was on her feet and already ordering another attack of Eigaon. Alto met it with a command of his own—”Agilao!” he yelled from atop the ledge, to the pricked ears of his Persona below. 

Sköll’s single eye rolled backwards into his head, down his throat, and emerged in his mouth, lighting the interior to blood red. Its glow coalesced, becoming brighter, hotter, and finally sparking into a roaring flame. The wolf heaved a massive breath, sending fire sweltering down at the Persona beneath its feet. It had prepared its own spell, however, and the beam of dark magic collided with the swathing fire in midair. There was a resounding _boom,_ and the wolf, the girl, and the statue were all sent skidding away in different directions. 

Alto felt the blast too, connected as he was to Sköll, but he paid it no mind. He scanned through the smoke for the girl, only to see her hunched over and holding her head. One corner of her mask was chipped off, leaving the butterfly’s wings clipped, and her own anguished expression exposed. She looked like she was about to cry; she didn’t have any wounds. 

_He’s against us._ The words were in her voice, but they were not spoken. They were in his head, like the way Lisette was, but more than that. Where the girl’s Persona had landed after the explosion, a cloud of murky vapor hung, words condensing from its vapor and taking to the air. _Why does it matter? If he opposes me, it doesn’t matter. Nothing I’ve done matters._ The more words floated away, the thicker and darker the mist became, and the more the girl’s voice became distorted. Layers of her words piled upon each other, all in different affects and inflections, speaking just a beat apart from unison. _This world never mattered without him in it. If I’m opposed by him, the mission doesn’t matter. I don’t want to protect anything._

“ _Stop!_ ” she said, pushing herself up. The girl’s arm was slung around her waist, as if holding a wound, but there was nothing there. “I don’t...That’s not what I think!” She backed one step away from the miasma, golden eyes wide. “You’re not...You’re not…!”

The wisps of black smoke knitted around each other at once, swarming together like a mass of snakes. Each band stacked on top of another, solidifying first into black, tarlike flesh, and again into a clear, metallic surface. The face of the girl’s Persona resurfaced in the cloud, then again, then again—three emotionless golden faces of three emotionless golden women. They were fused at the waist into one massive amalgam, imperfectly round from the bend of their petrified bodies. Each bore a single shimmering wing, grafted to their shoulders. While the women did not move, the wings did, formed of sinew and flesh with gold paint crudely applied to the feathers. They shuddered and twitched, flapping asynchronously and erratically like a sick fledgling. The last piece to form of the darkness was of the void that the three women encircled. Two needles jabbed out like ungainly legs, then a number of numerals which spread out in a ring. Behind them all, a shattered stained glass relief, the colors of which were drained and the image nigh unrecognizable. A thin glass carapace slid over all of it, crawling to contain its clock face in a clear membrane. 

Across the room, Sköll had once again risen to his feet, immediately locking his attention on to the forming creature. _Shadow._ It was Sköll’s voice that spoke that word in Alto’s head, but he knew it well. The formation, the presence, the warped speech—it was all like what happened with Lisette, though apparently decomposed of a Persona. It looked a bit different, _felt_ a bit different, but he knew what he had to do. “Vicious Strike!”

Sköll was already racing across the room towards the Shadow, jaws wide, and snapping out ever wider. It paid the wolf no mind, hovering listlessly in space, all faces, clock and human, fixed in different directions. There were still whispers seeping out from the smog around it, but they were unintelligible to Alto. Perhaps only the girl could hear them, as she was still shaking her head, backing away faster and faster. Whatever dialogue they were having, the Shadow appeared to be displeased, as its attention suddenly snapped to her. It fluttered grotesquely, advancing toward her with a slow, even float that didn’t at all match the dissonant efforts of its flight. The numerals welded in its display began to glow, brighter, brighter, and with one final, synchronous flap from all of its wings, it loosed a torrent of wind magic directly at the girl. 

She was blown back against the wall, the force and speed of the wind slicing into her exposed skin. By some miracle, her mask remained in one piece, but trickles of blood now smeared across her skin, staining and clinging to her white hair. Fortunately for her, Sköll leapt atop the Shadow as soon as it fired, setting it askew so she hadn’t had to take the attack full force. The inertia of the beast landing on its back sent the creature spinning off to the side, listing into a spiral as it struggled to right itself. Apparently, Alto and the girl had seen the same opportunity, as they both took off: Alto coming down the mountain, the girl running as far as she could from the Shadow. 

Every bite Sköll placed on the creature’s body seemed not to faze it; it was just the experience of chewing actual metal. Alto felt the hollow ringing in his own teeth as though they were Sköll’s, complete with the dull pain that raced through them. By the time he realized this form of attack was completely ineffectual, the Shadow had risen again, blowing the wolf off with another magical gale, not even bothering to pause and check its assailant. It simply resumed its slow advance towards the girl, the forgeries of humans on its body staring blankly into space. She had managed to put significant distance between herself and the monster, and though it couldn’t advance very quickly, she was running out of places to run. She’d been forced to escape to the side of the room away from the only exit, and had skirted along the wall towards the base of the mountain. She hadn’t quite reached it yet, but judging by her expression of terror, she’d realized her mistake. 

Alto had to slow it down again if she was going to survive. He stopped his descent for a moment to call to Sköll again, urging him to shake off the blow and come back. He couldn’t do much on his own, but his Persona had plenty of fight left in him. Then again, his attacks on its body just glanced off, so he’d have to think of a different approach...The clock face seemed like an obvious weak point, but encased as it was, he couldn’t take the risk of charging it and being met with a direct attack. The human bodies would make sense, but they didn’t seem any less metal than the rest of the Shadow. The wings, though...they were moving targets, but perhaps if he could take even one of them out, its flight trajectory would be broken. Best case, it would give Sköll an opportunity to ruin its other wings too, otherwise, it would at least give the girl some time to get away. 

She’d reached the base of the mountain now, and was desperately trying to climb up onto the first ledge. It would be a bit of a heft for Alto, but the girl’s size made it a trial to even get her arms atop it. She’d hauled her feet off the floor, and Alto forced himself off his ledge, wincing as he hit the ground, then repeated it as he hit the next shelf, and the next. The Shadow was bearing down on her again, but Sköll was bearing down on the Shadow in turn. Alto screwed his eyes tight enough to give himself a headache, forcing his vision from Sköll’s perspective, and locked his sights on one of those gaudy wings as he felt paws thunder beneath him. He gritted his teeth as they became long and pointed, mouth steadily widening, eye rolling into his throat—

“ _Kougaon!_ ”

A dense wad of luminescent energy hit one of the Shadow’s wings dead-on, impacting in an explosion of light and feathers. The creature’s tarlike blood spattered to the floor in viscous black droplets, and it spiraled out of the air like a maple seed. Smears of black marred the clock’s face, and the needles spun uselessly in the wrong direction. 

Sköll growled, triumphant, and swung its maw open to end the monster while it had the chance. Countless teeth dug into the Shadow’s front and back, squeaking against the glass casing over the clock. It fractured under the pressure of the wolf’s jaws, once, twice, cracks over the surface interlacing to form a disfigured web. Just as the final fissure threatened to shatter it entirely, the Shadow swarmed up on its two good wings, fluttering about wildly. It flailed about in midair to force the wolf to dislodge, then hurled it across the room with another gust. It lurched about for another moment, spinning as if locating something, then stopped when it faced the girl. 

She had cleared only a few ledges, and was standing on the balls of her feet in an attempt to reach the next level. It was still beyond her reach, and cries of frustration and pain hummed in her throat. The Shadow let out a shriek as it charged for her, all feathers beating the air into a dull thrumming noise. The girl froze as she looked behind her to see the creature closing in fast, and the only Persona here too far away to help. She inhaled once, and tensed her body. 

And then a hand reached down to her.

Alto had finally managed to get down to her level, though his knees were seriously aching from his effort. He extended his arm to the girl palm open and outstretched. “Come on! I’ll pull you up!”

She hesitated for what was probably less than an instant but what felt like an eternity, then took his hand in hers—just in time for him to heft her out of the way of the oncoming Shadow. He hadn’t really had the confidence in being able to pull her up, but apparently her size had its advantages; she felt light enough to carry. The monster careened forward in its charge, unable to stop itself as it crashed face-first into the wall, shattering its fractured casing with an ear-splitting screech. It flopped to the ground, needles spinning, wings still, but there it remained, undissipated. 

Alto rose to his feet, yanking the girl up with him, and pointed away, down the ledge. “It’s still active. We need to get away.”

He pulled her arm along with him for a few paces, and then she slipped away. She was staring at him again, frozen and unblinking. 

Alto sighed, and extended his hand to her once more. “It’s okay. Like I said, I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to be against you. We can be in this together.” He smiled, and when he felt the warmth spread along his cheeks, he knew he really meant it from his heart. “We can all protect each other.”

She blinked again, and then looked away from him. She was really in a harsh state now; her hair was dyed pink from blood and plastered along her face, clinging to her mask like seaweed. Her clothes were torn, with the cuts in them mirroring the skin underneath. Her eyes were a storm of emotion, every feeling swirled into everything else, so much so that he couldn’t even separate one from another. 

There was a soft whooshing noise, of air being moved, and Alto’s stomach leapt to his throat at the thought that the Shadow had already risen again. He frantically looked over to where it had laid, but nothing remained, only a fading trail of blue smoke. 

“Alto!” Lisette blared back into his skull, and Alto nearly jumped out of his skin; he’d pretty much forgotten she was there the whole time. “Sorry I left you there for a while; I figured you’d be in more danger if I barged in! I saw most of it, but there were parts that got all messed up. Are you okay?!”

Alto’s eyes fell on the girl, who had moved away from him down the length of the ledge. She was staring defiantly at the last traces of mist that had once been a Shadow, glaring defiantly at them until they wisped away into the void.

“Yeah. I think we’ll be okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I left the end ambiguous on purpose, because this was meant to be a surprise and I didn't want to ask for explicit details on where my friend saw the AU going from here. I don't have plans to write more unless she asks!
> 
> Initially, Alto's Persona was meant to be Hati, but after doing some reading I found conflicting accounts on whether Sköll or Hati was the one that devoured the moon. In the end, I picked Sköll because he seems to only ever appear with his brother, and may be a composite of Fenrir, while Hati appears on his own as his own entity. Fit a thread I was going for, so I didn't look any further :P


End file.
